Tom McCarthy Going to Philadelphia
The Phillies have announced that Tom McCarthy is heading to Philadelphia to broadcast for the Phillies.
McCarthy, who worked for WFAN in 2006 and 2007, used to work for the Phillies from 2001-2005, but then decided to go to the Mets, and now is heading BACK to Philadelphia.
Traitor! Anyway, according to him, Philadelphia are where his “roots” are. Whatever!
“I’m excited to be back in Philadelphia. I enjoyed my two years with WFAN and the Mets. Both are first-class, as are the Phillies. I’m looking forward to returning and can’t wait for spring training to get here.�
Giants Lose No Ground in NFC Playoff Race
Although the dull, motionless acts of Dum Dum Eli Manning were displayed with far less effort than capable, the Giants are still in a very solid spot when it comes to the NFC Playoff picture. Even if the Giants blew the Vikings out the other way around, the Standings would still be the same, the Giants would still be the number 5 wild card, and Dallas would still be in first place in the NFC East.
The Giants can do everything but mathematically eliminate themselves from any contention at winning a division this season, but the potential for this football team to aspire to it’s greatest ability is there.
As soon as the offense, which has been shaky as of late due to injuries, comes together, the Giants will certainly soar to the top of the NFC’s picture. If, and it’s likely, when Big Blue’s clinching date arrives, the fans can exhale, the players, the coaches, the management, everyone can relax themselves knowing that they’ll be playing another week.
This week’s loss will be splattered all over the newspapers Whether it be the NY Post, the USA Today, or the New York Daily News, Eli Manning will appear to have more problems than Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, OJ Simpson, and Pacman Jones combined. Dum Dum’s, as I sometimes call Eli, lack of emotion probably helps the team more than hurt them. What do you want him to do, go to reporters and say I AM HORRIBLE, THIS TEAM IS HORRIBLE, and MY LIFE IS HORRIBLE? No, he’s a professional and he doesn’t want the team’s morale to go down. At the same time, no one should expect him to jump up in joy and happiness. He handles the media, even though it’s odd, in my mind, perfect. Eli, on yesterday’s game, spoke with the Media earlier today.
"It’s a loss, and you just learn from it. We’ve lost games in the past, and we treat it like any other loss. Our attitude hasn’t changed. We’re not down, we’re not disappointed… if you look at where we stand right now in the NFC, we’re right where we want to be. We’re in a great position, we’re in control of our own destiny, in the lead for the wild card, so we just have to handle our business the next five weeks and we’ll be in good shape."
Meanwhile, dictator Coughlin made his state-of-the-Giants address this morning with his usual barking, snapping, biting, and his I-hate-my-life attitude, but the reporters are used to it. He did have a little bit of positive info to give…Anyway, here’s what he had to say:
"The message that I brought to the team today after watching the tape is one of real concern is the fact that we are 7-4 but what I really want from an individual and team standpoint is for us to play as well as we can play. That’s not taking place right now and that has to be corrected.
"You have to stand back and see where it goes from here. I told the team yesterday that this is the real test right now. I said something about it at halftime and I said it after the game that it’s not about the fact that a man gets knocked down, it is what he does after gets back up."
"…This talk after the game, we deserve it, but on the other hand, lets see how we respond now. There’s five games to go. Its the first game of a five game season for us…Chicago certainly proved what they’re made of with how they came back in the last six minutes to win yesterday, so it’s going to be a most difficult game in that division again on the road… and lets see how we come back from that. I don’t think there is on guy sitting in that team room that is not much aware of what’s going on and what the circumstances are. I think there is a lot of pride on our team, so I believe they’ll respond well."
With the weather expected to be in the 30s and snow falling down next weekend in Chicago for the 4:15 game, the Giants need to come up with some solutions and some solutions fast. The Bears are coming off a huge win yesterday to put them right back in the thick of the NFC Playoff race and the Giants better watch out. Whatever the Giants do, first things first, do not kick the ball to Devin Hester. He is the sole reason that Chicago won yesterday.
The only way the Giants will be able to win games is if the offense gets back to it’s original self, if the defense can keep up it’s solid work it has done the past few weeks, and if the team can put in a solid overall effort to escape Chicago and move closer to a playoff berth. With a win, the Giants will clinch their 3rd consecutive non-losing season.
Big Blew it! Eli Flops as Giants Crumble at the Meadowlands
Another home loss down the tank. Well, the Giants defense started the game by giving up a touchdown on the first few plays of the game, when Aaron Ross failed to deflect the pass and the Vikings took an early 7-0 lead. The Giants drove down the field and answered with a touchdown of their own, a run by Reuben Droughns. The Vikings took a 24-7 lead
into the half, as the boo-birds were alive and well at Giants Stadium.
Lawrence Tynes nailed a 47-yard field goal in the third quarter, it was absolutely amazing that he made that tough field goal in these weather conditions.
Eli Manning was 21/49 with 1 TD and 4 INT’s. Dwight Smith intercepted two throws, Darren Sharper picked up where he left off in 2005 with a INT ran back for a TD, and Chad Greenway also picked off Eli Manning, who’s brother Peyton was looking on in a luxury box…probably in disgust of his little brother.
It was the Giants’ worst loss since a 31-7 loss in Washington on Dec. 5, 2004 and their biggest loss at home since a 50-21 defeat to Washington on Sept. 19, 1999.
Brandon Jacobs missed the game after hurting his hamstring last week. Reuben Droughns and rookie Ahmad Bradshaw combined for 75 yards on 19 attempts against the league’s number 1 run defense.
The Giants, still in great position in the playoff race, hold a 1 game lead over the other wild card, the Lions, and a 2 game lead over anyone else (Giants hold a 2-game lead over Washington but its really a 3-game lead for the Giants because they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker).
Next week the 7-4 Giants have to travel to Chicago to face the Bears (5-6), who just beat the Denver Broncos in overtime. That game will be so cold that I don’t even want to think about it! That’s reaaallll great for Eli, the southern boy who hates the cold. Well, why did he come to the Giants? He had his perfect shot with San Diego. Oh well, I prefer him over Philip Rivers any day, and Eli has a great chance to become a much better quarterback.
Giants Beat Lions
With a nice performance out of their defense and kicking team, the Giants were able to sneak out a win in Detroit and move into sole possession of the #5 Wild Card spot in the NFC. With a 7-3 record, it would take a collapse even greater than last year for the Giants to miss the playoffs in an especially weak NFC. Although the NFC is weak, the Giants still sit 2 games (3 with tiebreaker) behind Dallas for the first place lead in the NFC East. Whoever wins the NFC East will most certainly get a first round bye and possibly Home Field Advantage, depending on how Green bay ends up.
Just before his 36th Birthday, Michael Strahan had 3 sacks and 6 tackles, as he looked like he was 30 again.
Sinorice Moss did a great job with his receiving yards, a career high 46, but the problem was that he fumbled the ball when the Giants were in field goal range and the Lions recovered. He needs to fix that.
Eli Manning did a great job, and it was in the second half of the season! Wow, I’ve never seen that happen. Maybe because it was indoors? Anyway, great job by Eli with his TD’s. He also had NO interceptions, which is a huge plus heading into next week’s home matchup against the Minnesota Vikings at Giants Stadium. He did a wonderful job of spreading the ball around. He complet
ed passes to 9 different wide receivers.
Lawrence Tynes drilled ‘em all, going 3 for 3 with a long of 46 yards.
Although Mathias Kiwanua got knocked out for the year with a leg injury, the Giants still have a veteran Reggie Torbor ready for action, who started for the Giants in 2005, the year the Giants won the NFC East.
Brandon Jacobs also got hurt, but it was much more of a minor injury. He hurt his hamstring, and will miss only a little bit of time IF AT ALL. If so, most indications point toward a return of surprisingly talented RB Derrick Ward this week, who has been hurt lately. If they both can’t go, Reuben Droughns should get the bulk of the carries (who else?).
Plaxico Burress’ ankle really seems to be limiting him BIG TIME. He has done nothing in the past 3 or 4 weeks. He has been slower in his routes, unable to haul catches in, etc. If I were the Giants, I’d rest him for 3 weeks and prepare him for the playoffs. This injury apparently is not going away.
Great return job by Ahmad Bradshaw this week for the Giants.
Week 11 Preview: Giants (6-3) @ Lions (6-3)
Two teams face each other this week that lost momentum last week in their losses to Dallas and Arizona. These teams both are tied for the lead in the Wild Card race in the NFC. The winner of this game will be in excellent position to make the playoffs, while it wouldn’t necessarily hurt the loser that bad, but would open the door for other contenders to fight for the final #6 NFC Playoff spot.
The Giants are coming off a great game against the Dallas Cowboys, who pretty much wrapped up the NFC East division title with that win. It put them two games ahead of the Giants, but really a three game lead because of the tiebreaker.
The Lions, who are a surprise this season, are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Their offensive line has allowed the most sacks in the NFL, while the NY Giants defense HAS the most sacks in the NFL, so definitely look for Big Blue to take down the immobile QB Kitna several times.
Here is the NFC Playoff Picture before Week 11 begins:
| SEED | TEAM | RECORD |
| DIVISION LEADERS | ||
| 1 | Dallas | 8-1 |
| 2 | Green Bay | 8-1 |
| 3 | Seattle | 5-4 |
| 4 | Tampa Bay | 5-4 |
| WILD CARD | ||
| 5 | Detroit | 6-3 |
| 6 | Giants | 6-3 |
| IN THE HUNT | ||
| 7 | Washington | 5-4 |
| 8 | Carolina | 4-5 |
| 9 | Arizona | 4-5 |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 4-5 |
| 11 | Chicago | 4-5 |
| 12 | New Orleans | 4-5 |